


you were acting like it was the end of the world

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Coping, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kree (Marvel), Loss, Soulmates, Spies & Secret Agents, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 20:19:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14838515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: Daisy is in space and finds her way home.





	1. unexpected cargo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy finds the marauder ship and its unexpected cargo.

The ship is marked as a marauder ship, something they know to avoid.

This is not the reason she's out here, though, but this ship is her only ride. This team the only familiar faces.

Space is empty and vast, and so much in contrast to the cramped conditions of the future Lighthouse.

It's a different feeling, where she has too much time alone with her thoughts. Where the ship seems to make strange noises at times that make her wonder if it's haunted.

Or maybe she wishes that it was.

At least that would be something, instead of a feeling of emptiness.

The ship fires on them, it's a warning shot, not very much the kind that space pirates would do.

It confirms that it's the one they're looking for. They attempt to make contact as her hula girl shakes on the dashboard at another grazing impact.

"Just get me close enough," Daisy says to Mack, holding on to the back of Davis's seat. "I can connect a cable, we can override their security with the exploit."

This worked before when they were attacked by marauders. That time they were taking no prisoners.

It took weeks to repair their own ship, but she used this before and they were able to escape and disable the pirate's vessel.

Mack agrees, and she goes into the hanger and puts on the suit they took from the pirates who jumped aboard. 

It's enough to power her over to the other vessel, and she takes the cable with her, and finds the similar interface and makes the connection.

Only a few minutes, and the lock opens, she's in.

Mack is in her ear telling her to wait for the others, but she's done taking orders. 

She gets inside and heads further into the ship, towards the bridge, when she sees an open door, the object sitting inside it at the center.

Like a sarcophagus, something creepy out of a nightmare. Black, and shining, with low lighting from above on it.

It sounds like what they were looking for. The person the team is out here to find. What he's capable of, but this version hasn't done any of that yet.

Versions. He gets a second chance, and yet-

Getting herself out of her own head again, she looks at the buttons on the lock and then leans over to see through the window inside.

It's fogged over, she can't make out the face, and a dark thought crosses her mind. She's glad Simmons isn't here, in case something went wrong.

"Open it, Daisy Johnson, also Quake."

She swings around and sees Enoch standing there, watching her. Creepy and quiet against the wall, talking to her like he was waiting for her.

Maybe he was even there all along.

"Okay," she nods at him and then presses the buttons to see the sequence she entered rejected.

"The code is-"

Her hand opens and she sends a burst of her powers against the lock, shattering it. "That's okay, I figured it out."

She gives him a too polite smile as he watches her grunting to push open the lid, releasing a cloud of moisture and chemicals into the room.

It makes her cough and step backward after inhaling, but she figures if it kept him alive it can't hurt her.

There are not many things left that can hurt her anymore.

She leans over, holding on to the edge of the chamber, and then has to use it to keep herself standing.

"How?"

"You were able to successfully change the future," Enoch says from across the room. "There was no sense in his loss."

Now she is the one panicking, staring down at Phillip J. Coulson sleeping inside. It's too much to imagine, and he looks so peaceful that it terrifies her.

"Is he-"

"Not dead. Still asleep," Enoch assures her. "It takes a moment for the body to adjust to depressurization."

She can't help herself, and she takes her glove off, and her fingers reach out to press against his cheek.  Cool to the touch, but warm underneath.

"Coulson."

His eyes move under the lids, and his lips part with a sigh, moving wordlessly, his head turning towards the sound of her voice.

Her fingers brush over his damp hair, sticking to his forehead, and she leans all the way over and presses a kiss there.

"Mmm, are we there yet?" he asks with a scratchy voice.

It makes her laugh, even as she can feel tears running down her face.

"Daisy?"

Now his eyes are open and he's looking at her, or trying, as she leans against the chamber, her fingers still in his hair.

"How are you here?" she manages to ask, as he looks like he would like to start to move, but his body isn't cooperating, so she helps him sit up.

"The last thing I remember is that robot knocking me out," he tells her, then his eyes focus and he can see Enoch watching them. "That robot, to be exact."

They both look when Simmons runs into the room and stops in her tracks at the sight of them together.

"Where is Fitz?" she asks them, then looks over at Enoch.

"I thought he was with you," Enoch replies, puzzled.


	2. a ship without a Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy and Coulson reconnect.

"He was just supposed to observe. You must've made quite an impression on him."

Coulson frowns like he's trying to remember something as they look out at the stars moving past.

"When I made you come back with us?" he speculates. "That I didn't leave you behind?"

She smiles at the thought of that. That he brought her back and died so she could live. That he's somehow standing in front of her now.

"There isn't any universe where you'd leave me behind," she tells him, shifting slightly and tapping her fingers on the back of the marauder ship's pilot chair in front of her. "Or something like that."

"I guess he took me at my word," he says, ducking his head for a moment and toeing the base of the chair, thinking, then he stares into her eyes.

"Daisy-"

"There's still so much we don't know," she says, gesturing towards him. She's not sure how much he knows. "Are you still? I mean, the Ghost Rider deal-"

She has been hesitating to ask since having him back only to lose him again seems unfair.

"The stasis did something to it, I can't say exactly what," he tells her. "But I think we're trusting Enoch a little too much here."

"You think he has an agenda," she nods, lowering her eyes.

"I didn't say I wasn't grateful," he says quietly, stepping closer to her, putting his hand on her arm. "Just that we should be careful."

"It was supposed to be Fitz in that chamber. Not you," she tells him, closing the distance between them and pressing her head into his chest. "Is it wrong that I'm glad it was you?"

"No," he replies, and she can feel the warmth from his cheek on the top of her head, his arms circling her shoulders. 

"They want to find Fitz. I want to find Kasius' father," she admits. He's the only person she's told this.

"On your own?" he asks, pulling back, his hands still on her arms, observing her serious expression.

"I'm not alone now, am I?"

He tilts his head and considers her cocky answer, the pain beneath it, then smiles warmly. "No. Do the others know?"

"I needed a ship, and I wasn't Director," she tells him with a shrug. "Had to hitch a ride somehow."

"Thanks for waking me up," he tells her, raising his eyebrows, a grateful look on his face. "For giving me another chance."

She stares back at him, wondering. What this means. Why he was brought back to her. Whether she should dare ask such questions.

"I meant what I said in that letter," he goes on, lowering his voice even though they're the only two people on the ship deck. "I wish I'd said it sooner."

  _That_ is her answer.

They share a quiet moment, then she takes his face in her hands and kisses him once, gently, making another declaration.

He runs a hand along her hair, his expression one that seems ready to live instead of dying, just before he kisses her back, his answer.

Like she _is_ his answer and she holds on to him like she won't ever let go again.

But of course, it can't last. They separate when they hear Enoch enter the room, inquiring about their plans.

"I believe you said you needed a ship," he mentions, as they glance at each other. "I happen to have a ship."

Coulson takes her hand in his, then nods his head at her, "Only if she's Captain."

Enoch looks between the two of them. "This is acceptable."

"I'll go let the others know," Coulson tells her, letting her hand go. "Unless you have other orders?"

She stares over at Enoch then checks Coulson out of the corner of her eye. "The Kree homeworld," she tells Enoch. "That's where we're headed."

"You realize that my presence here is solely to avoid catastrophic events," he reminds her. "And observe."

"This is a diplomatic mission," she answers. "To make sure the Kree don't endanger themselves by coming back to Earth."

"Ah, I see," he replies. "The velvet glove that cloaks the fist of power?"

"That cloaks a rebellion," she tells him. "If that's okay with you."

She follows after Coulson and hears Enoch call after her.

"I believe you are not asking my opinion."


	3. her mother's daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy plots her confrontation with the Kree.

"The Kree knew who your mother was."

"I have to assume that," she answers him. "She was alive for thousands of years. From the time of their rebellion against Hive and the Kree."

"Humans and Inhumans working together to get rid of Hive," he tells her, sliding his fingers in between hers. "I like the sound of that."

"I do, too," she agrees, and then locks their fingers together and sits up higher in bed, hovering over him. "What do you think Enoch gets out of this?"

"Unclear," he tells her, drawing their hands towards his lips and twisting her wrist so he can kiss her knuckles. "I've tried to charm it out of him."

"Mmm, I'm sure you have," she smiles at him taking her hand away and then leaning to press her lips to his.

"If you're the Inhuman Ambassador," he asks her, stroking her hair with his free hand, drawing his thumb along her jawline. "What does that make me?"

"You're my trusted spy," she tells him, tilting her head and looking at the bulkhead as she thinks it over. "Non-threatening. Human guy. Uses his wits and good looks to get out of tight spots."

"I'm very flattered, but it usually ends up being sass and determination," he says with a silly-happy smile, and then pulls her in closer to him, kissing her slowly, until she's sighing and melting into his arms.

They've discovered that there are no rules out here except the ones they make.

There is still a SHIELD without them. And they can take the fight to the Kree. SHIELD can be the last line of defense. 

Mack and most of the team were on board with it. Elena agreed to return to Earth and organize Inhumans quietly.

Simmons wanted to keep looking for Fitz but had nowhere to look except for where it all started.

"Fake it till you make it?" she asks him, raising an eyebrow and sitting up on the bed.

"You'll be fine." He plants a kiss on her shoulder and sits up beside her. "Better than fine. You're a wonderful negotiator."

"I wish I had _your_ confidence in me," she sighs, touching his arm, running her fingers along the prosthetic as he watches.

"That wasn't your fault," he tells her. "It was a choice I made. Just like the serum was a choice I made."

"Can you please choose more _carefully_?" she asks him, as his fingers wrap around her hipbone.

He leans over against her and pulls the covers away from them, drawing her body against his own.

"And risk losing you?" he tells her, brushing his lips against her cheek, then her mouth. "Never."

The truth is, she wouldn't be here if he hadn't done what he did. She kisses him back with gratitude for that.

She was angry about it at first. Irrationally, but she was grieving and trying to stop believing that everyone she loves dies.

Right now, she holds on, as his lips move down her body. His habit of wanting to kiss every part of her like he's memorizing it all.

Deep down, she knows that she was in love with him almost immediately.

Her hands tangle in his hair, as he moves her knees apart, lowering himself between her legs.

Not in a way that was easy to explain, but she was in love. She didn't believe in a thing like love at first sight.

And that she knew if she dared to love him less carefully, something bad would happen to him.

Instead, he's here, in her hands, or she's in his now, making her feel things she never believed could happen to her.

And it feels so, so  _right_.

"I love you, Phillip J. Coulson."

He stops and raises his eyes, lets them travel over her face, before kissing the inside of her thigh.

"That sounds serious."

"When we first met, the idea of being a part of something, of making a difference," she pauses, taking a slow breath and ruffling his hair. "It was quite an offer."

"You were already doing it," he replies, dropping another kiss, and a dirty grin. "I just wanted you to do it with me."

He's not lying, and she knows that he had loved her carefully, too.

That he had too many lives and only one half-lived left to give to her.

 

It took him dying again for them to both come around.

 

 

 

 


End file.
